Zainuddin Muhammad New Straits Times 12 Aug 10;
DUNGUN: The Puteri Rantau Abang (Rantau Abang Princess) is leaving her birthplace again.
Only this time, the 32-year-old leatherback turtle will be carrying a satellite tracking device on its back.
The Turtle and Marine Ecosystem Centre Research researchers hope this will go a long way in learning more about the migration patterns of leatherback turtles.
Malaysian Fisheries Department director-general Datuk Ahamad Sabki Mahmood was present during the release of Puteri back into the sea yesterday.
"It is a miracle that leatherback turtles are making a comeback to this (Rantau Abang) area again," said Ahamad, adding that back in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, leatherbacks were synonymous with with the Rantau Abang beach.
There was a dry spell as far as landings were concerned after the mid 1980s, until recently.
"But now we are lucky to have three leatherback landings in the past two months alone."
Ahamad said the return of Puteri may signal a new beginning in making Rantau Abang a turtle nesting ground again.
The first landing, after a long dry spell, was reported on July 15, where 69 eggs were found.
The next was on July 26 with 77 eggs, followed by 91 eggs on Aug 2, 71 on Aug 6, 104 eggs on Aug 8 and 80 eggs on Tuesday.
The next speculated period for nesting is between Aug 15 and 20.
Puteri was hatched in Rantau Abang in 1978 and marked by staff from the Fisheries Department on its left flipper. Those days there were no sophisticated marking.
"But we were happy to see her again. She landed here again on July 6," said Ahamad.
Of the three leatherbacks that landed, only Puteri was tagged, on her shell. The device can only be monitored for 14 months because of its battery life-span.
Puteri The Leatherback To Provide Data On Turtle playground
Bernama 12 Aug 10;
DUNGUN, Aug 12 (Bernama) -- Puteri Rantau Abang, a 32-year-old leatherback turtle was released to the sea yesterday, carrying with it a transmitter that will provide crucial data on its feeding ground and migration pattern.
The turtle was first released to the sea in 1978 as part of a conservation project and made its way back here 32 years later, weighing 500kg and measuring 1.51m-long and 1.16m-wide.
The Malaysian Fisheries Department identified Puteri Rantau Abang based on a marking on its back.
The turtle landed here on July 15, July 26 and Aug 6 and laid a total of 217 eggs.
It was then captured to allow researchers to attach the platform transmitter terminal that will beam the turtle's location as it voyages the open sea.
The department's director-general Datuk Ahamad Sabki Mahmood said the RM7,000 transmitter would allow researchers to establish the turtle's playground and other data such as water temperatures.
"We expect Puteri Rantau Panjang to head to the waters of Vietnam and Japan before heading to the Pacific.
"It is also possible that it will head to Indonesian waters, to the Solomon Islands and Australia and New Zealand before heading back to Terengganu," he told reporters after the release of the turtle yesterday.
He expects the turtle to return here sometime next week.
-- BERNAMA
Rare 'princess' turtle returns to Malaysia
Google News 12 Aug 10;
KUALA LUMPUR — A leatherback turtle has made a surprise return to a Malaysian beach after 32 years, a report said Friday, hailed as a "miracle" by conservationists and renewing hopes for the endangered species.
The leatherbacks -- the largest of all sea turtles -- were once a star attraction at Rantau Abang beach in Malaysia's northern state of Terengganu but overfishing, poaching and pollution caused the population to plummet.
The turtle, dubbed the "Puteri Rantau Abang" or Rantau Abang Princess and identified by special markings, returned last month to end a long dry spell of turtle landings which have been rare in Terengganu since the 1980s.
"It is a miracle that leatherback turtles are making a comeback to this area," Malaysian Fisheries Department director-general Ahamad Sabki Mahmood said according to The Star newspaper.
Ahamad said the turtle's return showed that Rantau Abang was being made a turtle nesting ground once again, and he hoped for more during the next possible nesting period between August 15 and 20.
The Puteri Rantau Abang, which was hatched in the area in 1978 and marked on its shell and left flipper, returned at a weight of 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds), measuring 1.5 metres (five feet) in length and 1.16 metres wide.
It was released back into the sea on Thursday, carrying a satellite transmitter which will help conservationists track turtle migration patterns.
"We expect Puteri Rantau Abang to head for Vietnam and Japan before heading to the Pacific," Ahamad said, adding that the turtle was also expected to travel to Indonesian waters and as far as New Zealand before returning to Malaysia.
Leatherback turtles have been around for the past 75 million years, surviving cycles of near extinction. Terengganu was the only place in Malaysia where leatherbacks nested.
In the 1950s, up to 10,000 female turtles struggled up the beach to lay their eggs each year, but by 1984 the number had fallen to 800 and in 2006 only five nests were found from two turtles, without any hatchlings emerging.
Apart from the leatherbacks, green turtles have also made a return to Malaysian beaches in recent weeks, but experts warned that the species is still headed for oblivion if habitat loss is not stopped.
Turtle to be tracked around the world
The Star 12 Aug 10;
DUNGUN: Puteri Rantau Abang, a leatherback turtle which returned to Rantau Abang 32 years after it was first released in 1978, has been released again by the Turtle and Marine Ecosystem Centre.
This time, Puteri Rantau Abang which was identified through a marking on its shell and flipper when it returned on July 6, will carry on its back a transmitter to provide crucial data on its feeding ground and migration pattern.
Malaysian Fisheries Department director-general Datuk Ahamad Sabki Mahmood, who was present during Puteri’s release here, said the RM7,000 transmitter would allow researchers to define the turtle’s travel pattern and other data.
Puteri Rantau Abang, weighing 500kg and measuring 1.51m in length and 1.16m-wide is expected to travel across the Asia-Pacific region before returning home.
“We expect Puteri Rantau Abang to head for Vietnam and Japan before heading to the Pacific,” he said, adding that the turtle could also enter Indonesian waters, and to the Solomon Islands, Australia and New Zealand before returning to Terengganu.
Ahamad Sabki added that Puteri Rantau Abang’s return showed that Rantau Abang was being made a turtle nesting ground again after a dry spell in the 1980s.
“It is a miracle that leatherback turtles are making a comeback to this area,” he said, adding that the next speculated period for nesting is between Aug 15 and 20.
